Up for Grabs
by Big Paja
Summary: Do You have the need to write a Naruto story but lack an idea for it? My situation is the complete opposite - I have many ideas but not enough will or skill to write. Come and have a look and You may just find Your Muse again!
1. Sasuke or Sakura

**Words of Wisdom:**

**I am not the creative person my friends and relatives take me for. I do have my moments when I am bursting with ideas but those are what they are – moments. That is my greatest problem and it is the same when I try to write stories. The best I can come up with is the beginning, the end and maybe a scene or two in between. That is where You come in because I have had just about enough of my inaptitude!**

**In this journal, I will record all of my ideas for Naruto fan-fics for You to see and judge. I could just put them somewhere in my profile but I do not want them to out-grow it and become a burden so I am taking this approach. I will always aim to give the best description possible to prevent any misunderstandings.**

**If You find any of the ideas worthy of being brought to life by Your fingertips, write a review wherein You will specify which idea You want to develop and how You want to handle it. This way it will be much easier for the people who stumble on this text and would like to see some of the ideas transformed into a story, but do not have enough creative energy for it, to connect to You and read (and possibly review) Your endeavours. In addition, I will give You my full support ranging from creative consultation and quality control to Beta-ing and reviewing. All You have to do in return, apart from writing the damn thing, is to mention me as the originator of the idea.**

**Of course, there may come a time when an idea that has sprouted in my mind independent of the outside world will not be original at all. I think it is inevitable that there may be one or more fan-fics already utilising said idea without my knowledge. If You know of such a fic or have already written one Yourselves, write a review as well, for all the same motives.**

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Up for Grabs One: Sasuke or Sakura

This has been scratching the insides of my skull for quite some time now. Naruto is called Naruto because it is the story of Uzumaki Naruto. We follow his adventures and misadventures, ups and downs, trials and tribulations. We hear his thoughts and dreams, words and opinions, proclamations and promises. We watch him sweat and laugh, grow and learn, fight and succeed. We know all about him because he is the main character of the story, the world revolves around him, people are drawn to him.

However, there are two other characters whose lives and personas are known to us in a similar manner, only in a smaller scope. They are his teammates, friends and closest things he has to siblings. They are Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. He is his rival and motivator. She is his love and someone to protect. Together they went through thick and thin, together they overcame the worst of odds, together they grew, together they changed, together they became. They were meant to be inseparable but life chose otherwise.

I always wanted to know what it would be like to re-experience the whole canon story of Naruto from the point of view of one of these two characters. I always wanted to know what they were doing during the night he stole the scroll of forbidden jutsus, learned Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the truth about Kyūbi no Kitsune. I always wanted to know with what thoughts they welcomed their first day as official shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. I always wanted to know what were they really doing during the month between the preliminaries and finals of the Chūnin exams. I always wanted to know what other things they were doing when Naruto was gone with Jiraiya to find Tsunade. I always wanted to know how Sakura felt when Shikamaru led the mission to retrieve Sasuke. I always wanted to know what were Sasuke's thoughts up to the point when his battle with Naruto began. I always wanted to know how they spent the time-skip. I craved for the other perspective.

Naruto may be a hugely popular franchise whose owners never miss an opportunity to cash in on it but the possibility of it being retold from the perspective of one or both of these characters is dangerously close to zero. It is up to the fan community to fill in the gaps. If the fans do not tell the complete stories of Sasuke and Sakura, no one will.

I think You have already seen countless fics that have retold the canon story but always with at least one change to make it more interesting, to see "what would happen if". I think You have already tired Yourselves of reading them and have pondered what else to do to make them interesting again. Well, how about this little idea of mine! Retell the canon story but do not change anything. Do not put Naruto on a different team, do not make the NaruSaku or NaruHina pairings happen, do not let Sasuke stay, do not let anyone dead live or anyone living die, do not let the Akatsuki make their move sooner, do not let Orochimaru win in the invasion. Do not do anything of the sort. Just change the perspective…

Thus, You will have many opportunities to strain Your imagination to tell new stories and give a different air to the old ones. I am not saying You cannot do that with those changes that I have listed above but my idea has one huge advantage. If You preserve all of the canon events, the readers will always feel at home when reading Your story. They will not be able to complain that "this would never happen" because everything You will invent will have to lead to the known events and situations. Those who hate the ridiculous what-ifs will not be repulsed because it is not a what-if. Those who do enjoy what-ifs but hate to read through events that remain unchanged will not have to worry about that because Your focus will be Sasuke or Sakura and they were not present everywhere all the time.

I should now give You the specific details I would like such a story to have:

1) Because I would like it to be as close to the canon material as possible, the rating should never exceed T. Naruto is a shōnen manga and the term means "young man" and such material is aimed at teenagers and people in their early twenties. Do not try to make the story grittier or more realistic. Try to keep it as much Naruto as possible.  
2) Although the story of Naruto gives the spectator an almost omniscient position, the character Naruto has many things hidden from him. Keep this in mind for Sasuke and Sakura as well. For example, if You decide to write the story from Sakura's point of view, You will not be able to talk about Naruto and Sasuke's battle with Haku because her view was obscured by Zabuza's mist. Or if You choose Sasuke, You will not be able to talk about the preliminary matches that came after his because Kakashi took him away.  
3) You should not attempt this if You dislike one of these characters. For the story to be believable, You must have good experience with them and know what makes them tick. If You know them well, it will not be hard for You to invent what they would do and think. On the other hand, You can even get away with some moderate Naruto bashing in the early stages of the story because both Sasuke and Sakura pretty much disliked him.  
4) The title absolutely, positively and unconditionally has to be either "Sasuke" or "Sakura" because the source material is called "Naruto". It would only make sense to call the story of Uchiha Sasuke "Sasuke" or the story of Haruno Sakura "Sakura".

I think these are all the requirements I have. The rest is up to You.

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**Parting Words:**

**Do You think it could work out? Do You think You are the one capable of granting it form? Do You know of someone else who might be interested in undertaking this task? Have You already seen it somewhere or written it? If the answer to at least one of these questions is "yes", please write a review like I told You at the beginning. Also, with the ideas in following chapters, it would be best if You wrote Your review for the chapter that contains the idea You are interested in.**

**Stay on the safe side!**


	2. Songfics

**Welcome to the Jungle:**

**Here is another one of my ideas for You. Do not be surprised by its shortness – it is just an idea after all, not a story. It may or may not be fresh but that is life.**

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Up for Grabs Two: Song-fics

You know them and You have probably read at least one in Your life because You are curious and want to try everything. The concept is sound enough. Every song exists to tell a story or give a message and sometimes that story or message is terribly reminiscent of how You feel, of what You have done, of what You have seen. Some other times it is reminiscent of works of fiction. This is hardly surprising because art imitates life and life imitates art in a vicious cycle.

Well then, what could I possibly have to tell You about Naruto song-fics that You have not already heard countless times? You may be surprised or at least I hope You will be. While there is undoubtedly a huge number of songs in the world that can perfectly fit characters and goings-on in Naruto, those songs were composed independently of Naruto – they were just "happy accidents". However, there are songs that were composed with at least a little bit of Naruto in mind. I am talking about nothing else but the opening and ending themes. They should be the perfect material for Naruto song-fics. A great example of that is the fifth ending theme "Imamade Nando Mo" by The Massmissile.

Of course, I cannot be sure whether this has been attempted or not. The fact that I turn away and look elsewhere whenever I spot the expression "song-fic" in a story's summary does not help me one bit. No offence to those who write them, I am not saying that they are bad; I am just no longer interested in that concept in the broad sense. Except for this idea here, which is a special one. I got it probably around the time I lost interest in song-fics.

The only real problem of this is getting accurate English translations of those songs. All the decent fan-subs have those one-and-a-half minute long segments of the songs transliterated and translated but the rest of the lyrics is a little harder to come by. Although I am sure there are quite a few people here that know enough Japanese to be able to translate the songs for themselves even using only the transliterations that are easier to find. If You are not one of those, I will have to refer You to the site Anime Lyrics dot Com - the address is www. animelyrics. com/ anime/ naruto (just get rid of the spaces).

So, let me explain to You what I have in mind for this:

1) I would like to get someone experienced in writing song-fics to invent stories of undetermined length, in any genre desirable, involving any number of main characters, whose plot would be directly based on the lyrics of the opening and/or the ending themes. Really, the stage is Yours and there are very few limitations.  
2) It would be a huge plus, in my opinion, if You could also take cues from the animated sequences that are accompanied by those songs. The animation team always strived to at least reflect the mood of each song so it would be absolutely perfect if You tried this similar approach.  
3) I would like to not have the lyrics of those songs in the text. That is one thing I do not like about song-fics – that the lyrics are usually put inside the story in their entirety, including the choruses. I think they detract from the story itself and I cannot fully focus on them either. Since everyone who watches Naruto is already intimately acquainted with all of the songs and has at least once read the lyrics translations by the various fan-subbing groups, there is really no need to waste space like this. It will also contribute to the immersion factor. However, one line here or there will not hurt.  
4) I would prefer that all of the songs would come in two collections: one for the opening themes and the other for the ending themes. An alternative could be to also split those collections further into themes for Part I and Part II (Shippūden). I do not have a set idea for titles for these collections. In fact, even something completely descriptive and unimaginative like "Naruto Opening Themes Song-fics" would do. Nevertheless, it would be best to give the individual chapters the names of the songs. For example, the second chapter of the opening themes collection should be called "Haruka Kanata". However, I am not against the idea of having a secondary title for each chapter, one that would further specify what story You wrote or one that would be a translation of the song title, if it is in Japanese, or both.

If You think that these instructions and requirements are a little too demanding or excessive or retarded, I have another proposal for You, something a little looser. Think karaoke. I do not remember there being karaoke bars anywhere in the anime but since Naruto is based on both ancient and contemporary Japanese culture, and since there is even an album of Naruto themes sung by the Japanese voice actors, karaoke is perfectly acceptable. You could gather all Your favourite characters and have each of them sing one or more of the songs. You would have to come up with reasons for why this character chose that song but taking cues from the mentioned album (it is entitled "Naruto All Stars" by the way) is also acceptable. There would be no other restrictions regarding the plot. If You manage to squeeze in the majority or all of the opening and ending songs from Part I or even Part II, You could even make Your story a parody crack-fic for all I care. Sounds good? Although I would prefer the former, the more serious, approach to be taken, I am not selling a licence to this idea. Anyone who is interested is free to adopt it and work with it.

What do you think then? Are my ideas crazy enough to turn out good? Or should they have stayed inside my brain and died of old age?

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**Goodbye Blue Sky:**

**Refer to the Author's Notes in chapter 1 for further instructions and stay on that safe side, damnit!**


	3. Shikamaru in Kumogakure

**And So It Begins:**

**Is such a quick update healthy? Maybe not but I feel I should relieve my mind of these ideas as soon as possible, while they are still alive and kicking. That and I talked about "ideas", which is plural. I hate it when anyone talks about undetermined plural quantity and in fact means two or three. Therefore, I shall exhaust myself.**

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Up for Grabs Three: Shikamaru in Kumogakure

I hesitate to call this an idea. I think it is more akin to a simple prompt. My brain produced it probably some time after chapter 419 of the manga was released. It may not be anything special but since Shikamaru is my favourite Naruto character, I just had to release it into the wild waters of this site for some predator to catch and have his (or her) way with. You may be telepathically asking me: "If he is Your favourite character, then should You not be the one who would take it upon himself to shape it into a wonderful story?" Well, that is the problem. Why do You think I am doing this in the first place? Maybe I am capable of writing good fan-fics for You to enjoy but when it comes to my own work, I am a relentless critic. I would always condemn my writing as "not even decent enough" and forever put the posting off. Trying to create a story about my favourite characters or pairings is even worse. I do not want to go there.

There is really not much to explain about this little idea I have here – the title mostly speaks for itself. I think this is a marriage made in heaven. Shikamaru, the man with a passion for clouds, and Kumogakure no Sato, Village Hidden in the Clouds. All of the main villages of elemental countries that have been thus far seen were named the way they were named for a reason. What better place for Shikamaru to live than a prominent shinobi village that has sky over it filled with clouds the whole year round? The fact that the recent manga chapters showed some images of the Kumogakure landscape and introduced a few characters with NAMES and plot potential, made me decide that this idea is worth a try.

Before You bombard me with reasons for why this would never happen, not even in a million years, let me tell You that I am aware of them. Shikamaru is mostly a lazy bum. He may contemplate the idea of moving to a place that would best provide him with his favourite pastime but he would quickly dismiss it as too much effort. There are enough clouds in Konoha, so why bother? For this reason, the motivation for him to move to Kumogakure has to be an external one, most probably an order. The fan-fic community seems to like the idea of him being an ambassador to Sunagakure to improve mutual relations between the two villages, while their main objective is to get him close to Temari. I am not against it because I ship ShikaTema. I think it would not be that far-fetched in this situation to choose Shikamaru as an ambassador to Kumogakure for the same superficial reason – to stabilise or improve relations – and make that the motivation for the move in the story. Of course, it does not have to be limited to this simplicity. There is a possibility for covert espionage. He would be a great candidate for this as well, since he is a brilliant strategist who does not move before he plans – a crucial asset for a secret agent. I am sure You can think of other ways to make Shikamaru move to a different village Yourselves. To be honest with You, it took me some time to look past the basic idea "Shikamaru lives in the Cloud Village" and see that there has to be a reason for it.

After a reason for the move has been decided and Shikamaru's ass has been transferred to a new seat, it is time for the crucial substance. What in the name of nine circles of Inferno would he do there? Well, first he would have to settle down, get to know a few people and make new friends, get a feel for the place and find a perfect spot to watch the omnipresent clouds. Then, if You decide to make him an ambassador, he would do "ambassadorial stuff", like meeting with officials, mediating negotiations, learning of their culture and promoting his, writing reports back home, maybe teaching something. If You decide to go with the espionage as well, then there would be scouting, valuating, thorough infiltration and other troublesome stuff spies do. That material could last a few chapters, depending on how detailed You want it to be or on how much back-story You want to provide.

Speaking of back-story, I think You will agree with me that this should be placed further in the timeline, after Akatsuki has already been dealt with, either completely or at least partially, so that they are no longer an immediate threat to peace. You could spend some time just explaining how it came to be and what involvement Shikamaru had. Although I am pretty certain the original Team 7 will steal all the glory in the events to come in canon, I still think and hope that Kishimoto will give Shikamaru's fans something to be very happy about. If You are a Shikamaru fan like me, You will not pass this opportunity to give him some unwanted fame and merit that came because he did what he had to do. He is the reluctant hero.

These explanations still have not persuaded me that You believe that I love this idea. Sounds strange? Yeah, it does… No matter. To persuade myself that you believe me, I need to take this further. This story could be made into a number of things: a simple diary of mundane events, a story of frustration caused by the change of environment, an exploratory probe into the political dealings of elemental countries or a political drama where a war could be looming about. All of that sounds good in some way and all of it could have some romance in it, although Shikamaru is not the number one choice for anyone who thinks about romantics. Romance with whom You ask? Well, certainly not with anyone from Konoha and neither with Temari. Those women will be too far away for him to reach. He will have to look around his new home. Remember that not one but two members of the team sent to retrieve Killer Bee were females – two brand new canon characters to explore. I would even go as far as to suggest an OC woman to get together with Shikamaru. Let me tell You that I avoid all fics that have an OC in the spotlight or paired with a canon character. I am prejudiced against that concept. However, I would gladly make an exception to let this idea of mine come true. I love it this much. Whether You pick an OC or a canon character (one of the females from that team) for the position of Shikamaru's love interest, it should take You at least one chapter to properly introduce and describe her and other chapters to explain just why they would be compatible. Taking inspiration for that from Temari, Ino and Yoshino Nara, the femmes fatal of his life, would be understandable. Or You could turn it around and make that woman what he dreams of: not too pretty, not too ugly, not bossy and wanting a quiet life with two kids. I cannot say I have a preference for one of the alternatives but the usual bossy, strong, independent woman is more exciting.

This is probably everything I have to say on the matter. It is not too little but if I wanted to write it myself, it would certainly not be enough to start it. That is the reason why I am giving this idea up for adoption. I want to find a competent author who is able to work with these rough outlines and has no problem inventing all the rest in the process. Preferably someone who knows what makes Shikamaru tick, of course.

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**And Then Came the End:**

**Please, say that You want to write a story based on this idea! Please! It is not like I do not want the others to happen, not at all, I want all of my ideas to become full stories but I love Shikamaru and want him to shine. If You do too and want to take this upon Yourself, write a review for this chapter.**

**Stay on the safe side!**


	4. A Handicapped Shinobi

**Introduction:**

**You know what? I cannot believe that it was my very own mind that came up with this. In essence, it goes against one of my preferences. I also think it is my most retarded idea yet.**

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Up for Grabs Four: A Handicapped Shinobi

Those of You who are familiar with "Thoughts and Speculations", my other journal here, should remember that I presented an idea for a story in its first chapter. Back there it sounded much better to me... I am going to elaborate on it here. Basically, I am proposing a story centred on an OC. Now why would I, of all people, do that? The idea cannot be realised otherwise because I refuse to bend any of the canon characters to suit it.

The idea is that the OC would be a complete disaster when it comes to forming hand seals at a speed that would guarantee survival in battle. No matter how hard and how long the OC practices forming hand seals, s/he still cannot get to the level of a below-average Genin. That means that the OC is unfit to be a shinobi, unless s/he can find a way around this problem. I think I was inspired by Rock Lee – he is unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu to save his life, so he turns to the only alternative he has, which is taijutsu. The alternative way for my OC shinobi would be to thoroughly study the jutsus.

I will now try to condense what I have explained in the mentioned chapter of TaS but I would still advise You to go and read the whole thing. I know it sounds like shameless pimping of my works but it is really better if You have the whole picture. Are You back now? Or have You not left to begin with? Good, let me start then. My theory stands on the fact that hand seals are instruments that take care of moulding the chakra inside of a shinobi's body to successfully cast a jutsu. Shinobis use them because they do not have time to concentrate and mould the chakra on their own in the heat of battle. However, true elite shinobi are able to perform their favourite jutsus using fewer hand seals or just one or none at all. They understand their jutsus and know them like the back of their hands, so moulding chakra for those comes to them almost as naturally as walking or breathing. I may be exaggerating here but I am sure You get the point.

This leads back to my poor OC. Instead of spending time to learn how to correctly form the seals for a jutsu and then repeatedly casting it, s/he would always perform one seal at a time and meditate on how exactly the chakra is being moulded. After s/he gets the pattern down to every last detail, s/he would proceed to mould the chakra on his/her own. Naturally, such process is much more time consuming than that of normal training but there is no other way. Let's say that learning one jutsu would take about as much time as for an average Genin to learn three or more jutsus. This would inevitably lead to a longer stay at the academy, many suggestions to just give up and repeated attempts to pass the Genin exam.

However, after the OC manages to pass and become a lowly Genin, this disadvantage would eventually turn into a slight advantage. The great majority of shinobi cast jutsus with sequences of hand seals that are the same around the world (the minority is composed of the elite shinobi who need fewer hand seals to cast their jutsus). This is the normal battle situation: a shinobi wants to cast a jutsu and starts forming hand seals for it, the opponent sees the hand seal sequence, identifies it, gets information from it and based on that information devises a counterattack. All shinobi worth their salt should be able to do that. An example of this is the battle between Kakuzu & Hidan and Team 10 led by Kakashi. Kakuzu used a Doton jutsu and Kakashi was able to identify it by the Mi - Snake seal used and this gave him a hint that Raikiri, a Raiton jutsu, would be the best way to react. The outcome was that one of Kakuzu's hearts was killed off. Fighting a shinobi who does not use hand seals is a little harder because the opponents, unless they are Hyūgas or Uchihas, have no way of telling which jutsu is being cast and have less time to react and form a suitable strategy.

The OC would also benefit from another advantage and that would be extensive knowledge of the workings of jutsus and chakra. S/he would be able to help his/her peers with jutsu problems – to identify them, understand them and solve them. This could eventually lead to the OC being promoted to Chūnin to become a teacher at the academy. That would be a nice conclusion to the story.

I should now tell You about the limitations this basic concept would entail for the OC:

1) While logic requires him/her to be a klutz with weapons and taijutsu as well, I would hesitate to take it this far. Otherwise, the OC would have not even a snowball's chance in hell of becoming an official shinobi. Just imagine that there is just something wrong with the OC's finger coordination, while the rest of the body works fine. S/he could understandably be slightly below average in those abilities "but and because" s/he would rather exploit the slight advantage in ninjutsu and genjutsu, rely on these and specialise in surprise attacks. Getting in and getting out before the enemies can realise they can easily get the upper hand if the battle is prolonged.  
2) I have already said that the process of learning jutsus would be longer than average and I intend this acquisition period to be kept long over the years. Even though hand seals form chakra in specific ways that can be memorised, I would also theorise that there are some finer touches to every jutsu, which would limit the OC.  
3) You may have missed this but I never wanted the OC to be any genius of sorts. I talked about elite shinobi and their ability to cast jutsus with fewer hand seals and described the OC's advantage with this but that was only what it was – a simile. The OC would in fact take a little longer to actually cast any of the jutsus mastered because this seal-less casting is more taxing on mental energy. Also, because of the long acquisition periods, the OC would have a limited arsenal. S/he would often just scrape by, fulfilling the dream.

I also have a few things to say about the details this story should or could have:

1) I have never said that the OC should be from Konohagakure. You are free to choose any of the canon villages to be this OC's home. Just pick Your favourite.  
2) There is no limitation on when this story should take place either. You can put it into the "present" of Part I or Part II just as You can put it into an undetermined past or an undetermined future. If You like the concept of Naruto and co. being senseis, place the story in that future and assign the OC to Your favourite shinobi's team and You can give Yourself a nice treat this way. My money is on Neji because Hyūgas understand the workings of chakra better than many others do.  
3) The concept that should be alluded to frequently through the story is that of "defying the odds". It is very much present in the source material and the story would make little sense without it and these should be good enough reasons.  
4) The story should be very personal and largely focused on the OC's life and problem. The others should stay on the sidelines and only occasionally step into the spotlight. However, that would be a very solitary existence so a friend or two is in order. I would like it to be a biography of sorts.  
5) Apart from the biographical aspect of the story, the genre is also free for You to choose. You can mix in a little bit of Romance, Angst, Adventure and the indispensable Humour. It is my belief that Naruto stories should always contain at least a trace amount of it.

I think this is all I have to say on the matter. There are more liberties You can take than restrictions that I imposed and I think that those are logical enough. Those who think that OC stories should be the basis of fan-fiction, unlike me, are especially welcome to use my idea.

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**Conclusion:**

**I just thought that this is a cool concept and that it can be worked into something enjoyable. If You think so as well and would like to adopt it, let me know with a review.**

**Stay on the safe side!**


	5. Gaara after Shukaku

**Rising from the Depths:**

**I know for sure that the idea I am about to present to You now is not an original one. I did some searching to confirm that. However, since none of the stories I found were to my liking, I feel obliged to tell You what was wrong with them and what I consider right.**

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Up for Grabs Five: Gaara after Shukaku

People who are not limited to watching Naruto dubs are mostly up to date with at least the Shippūden anime. The true fans also know what happened in the latest manga chapters. Both groups know what was the conclusion of the Rescue Gaara arc - that after Gaara's Bijū was extracted from him and he died, he was resurrected. The big question that this left hanging in the air was how did it change Gaara's life. I expected that at least someone has already latched onto this and wrote something about it, so I got to searching. I entered the keyword "Shukaku" and got 198 results and 38 out of those claimed to be placed after the extraction.

Among these 38 positive results I found a good number of one-shots, many apparently abandoned stories (they were not updated in over a year), many stories that utilised concepts I do not like and four possible candidates that just could be what I was looking for. Upon closer inspection, two of those four proved to be unacceptable like the rest and the other two looked more promising. The first of the two promising candidates was written by Vinny11 and is called "Struggles" - it states that Gaara's control of his sand is weakened and that he needs to improve his general chakra control. The author created a female OC Jōnin to help him with that. It is not exactly what I imagined but it is close. The second candidate, a story written by MarauderGirl777 and called "The Sands of Time", is more problematic - the basic idea is that since Gaara was relieved of the Shukaku, he wants to further improve all of his abilities and Temari suggest Sakura as the best option for a genjutsu instructor. I stopped there and was not willing to read any more of this story of 40k+ words because it is based on the pairing.

I should explain what I found generally wrong with each of the 38 stories. One-shots were not acceptable because they were short and I want an epic story that would run on the background of canon events. The presumably abandoned stories were not acceptable because even if the authors decided to pick them up and continue them, getting back into the right mood is hard after such a long time. A few stories were set "years after" the extraction but I am interested in what happens to Gaara "right after" the extraction. Some stories just used the setting as an excuse for yaoi and I do not support yaoi. Some stories, like "The Sands of Time", went for a hetero pairing but one that violates canon; some of them even went ahead and unnecessarily changed more things. There were stories that stated that Gaara's sand-wielding powers were completely gone and that is not true. There were crack stories that just "happened" to be placed in that time slot and while they may be enjoyable for the fun and giggles, they are not what I am looking for. Other stories just had a mistaken idea about Gaara's condition and I cannot accept that. Last but not least, there was at least one story that had Gaara "regain" his Bijū and that is preposterous.

Now that I have pointed out what I consider wrong, I have to tell You what I think is right because I want my idea to be given life:

1) It MUST be in accordance with canon. This is the most important part. Whenever I browse the RSS feed, I secretly hope to find stories that attempt to "fill in the gaps". Stories that would talk about the childhood of our favourite characters and explain why they behave the way they do; stories that would retell important events from the past, like the night when the Kyūbi attacked; stories that would take place during the time-skip and talk about how each character passed it. The story of Gaara's new, demon-less life falls into this category. The premise itself is enough to hold the story together and You do not need to add any other motivations; I even discourage this. I want to know what Gaara did, how he felt, if he made new friends, what were his Kazekage duties and so on. But all in accordance with canon. Do not bend it to Your story – that is the easy way to do it. Bend Your story to fit in it – it is a good challenge.  
2) On the other hand, I do not want this to be just non-conflicting. I want to have some accounts of the main canon story reach Sunagakure and have an effect on Gaara. I would like to know how he would feel about Naruto's failure during his confrontation with Sasuke or about the Akatsuki rampage and their success at capturing and killing other Jinchūrikis.  
3) One of the topics that should be accented, and many of the one-shots were actually based on it, is the new possibility of "peaceful slumber" for Gaara. He undoubtedly used to sleep a little when he was younger but he learned not to. Without Shukaku, he does not need to worry that his mind would be consumed, that he would go insane, berserk, hurt his fellow men and destroy his village. However, after long years of sleep deprivation and fear and being used to not sleeping at all, it will be a hard habit to break. Gaara will have to get used to the idea of sleeping, convince himself that it is a natural matter and he will probably talk about it with his siblings and people he considers close. Then there are dreams. Dreams are a rare occurrence in Naruto fan-fiction and I have seen them only in Romance stories and epic character-based stories. Some of the one-shots, mostly in the Angst genre, played with Gaara having good dreams and nightmares. Both are inevitable experiences Gaara will face while sleeping and they will be another matter for self-reflections and intimate conversations. I want Gaara to eventually embrace both sleeping and dreaming. I do not want him to chicken out of it just because he can have nightmares. That was one thing I did not like about the dream-based one-shots – they made Gaara take the easy way. He is an intelligent and rational person and he has lived through much worse than waking up abruptly, covered in cold sweat and vaguely remembering those horrible images that he would forget soon afterwards anyway. After all, he learned not to sleep because Shukaku eating away at his sanity most probably gave him nightmares to begin with.  
4) Gaara's sand-wielding powers are a very touchy subject. When Gaara and Naruto were trying to say their good-byes, Gaara encouraged Naruto's hand with a gentle swirling stream of sand and the newest Character Data Book confirmed that Gaara retained his abilities. It is strange since he obtained them because Shukaku was bound to him. The Ultimate Defence was not his mother's spirit in the sand like Yashamaru told him, it was Shukaku. I think that during the course of his life, Gaara learned to understand the workings of manipulating sand and how to do it more efficiently. How else would he have come up with more and more new techniques? He spent his whole life surrounded by sand, playing in the sand, playing with the sand and killing with the sand and that allowed him to retain his abilities.  
5) However, logic commands that Gaara's sand-wielding powers and other abilities should be weakened because now it is only Gaara himself who controls the sand without the help of the dormant Shukaku. The first important thing to keep in mind is Gaara's chakra regeneration. Although the manner in which Shukaku was sealed into Gaara was vastly different from how the Kyūbi was sealed inside Naruto, it would make sense to presume that Shukaku boosted Gaara's chakra regeneration rate; that is now gone. Gaara's overall chakra capacity is huge because his Endurance stat is maxed out in the Data Book and he decided to never rely on Shukaku again after his fateful confrontation with Naruto, so the extraction did not influence this. The automatic Ultimate Defence is, however, most likely gone because it was controlled by Shukaku so Gaara will have to train hard to regain at least some part of this useful ability.  
6) The idea of Gaara training to become even better and stronger without Shukaku and thus proving to his people that he wants to protect them at whatever the cost that is the foundation of both "The Sands of Time" and "Struggles" is indeed a very good one. Gaara never used taijutsu because he did not have to but he will have to learn it now, before he figures out how to master the Ultimate Defence again. His ninjutsu was all focused on the use of sand and his genjutsu is also very limited. I think this a great concept that should not be omitted and it can provide a lot of material.  
7) Last but not least, there is the matter of romance. I have made it clear that pairing Gaara up with a character who is engaged elsewhere is unacceptable. However, I am not saying I do not want romance present in this story. Even though Gaara has to bear the burden of responsibilities the position of Kazekage entails and he is a seasoned shinobi with a high kill count, he is still a growing young man in his puberty. He should exhibit at least the minimum amount of affection towards the fair sex. There would be nothing wrong with it and it would be completely natural. You can go ahead and pair him up with Matsuri if You feel like it but I also give You permission to create an OC love interest for Gaara because there are no other canon girls for him to choose from.

I am sure that You will agree with me that a serious epic story about Gaara's post-Shukaku life is in order. Gaara is my second favourite Naruto character but I have read only a few fics about him and I want this to change. Such a story would be the perfect starting point.

* * *

**Flying away and into the Distance:**

**Even if You do not think Yourselves capable of pulling this off, I encourage You to spread the word and alert any authors You may know who are good at writing stories with Gaara. If You think You ARE capable of pulling this off, let me know in a review for this chapter. **

**Stay on the safe side!**


	6. Take a Bow

**Hinata Is Not Dead:**

**I know I am not the only one who has had a strong reaction to chapter 437 of the Naruto manga. I have already seen a bunch of fics that tried to elaborate on Hinata's thoughts and words, provide Naruto's reaction, invent a happy/sad closure to the battle and so on. Well, I also have an idea of how to use this situation. It is a short one and here it goes.**

* * *

Up for Grabs Six: Take a Bow

I was browsing though my RSS feed of FF dot net Naruto fan-fictions and decided to listen to some music to liven up the usually dull experience. I "half-accidentally" chose the song "Take a Bow" by the British rock band Muse and while I was listening to it, I realised that its lyrics are a prefect framework for Naruto's probable thoughts in chapter 437. I think it would make a very neat introspective song-fic. I will present the lyrics to You and comment on the individual passages.

I envision it that the song would "start to play" at the moment Nagato (I will use this name throughout this text because that is how I now refer to Tendou Pain, since he is alone on the battlefield) uses his Shinra Tensei attack on Hinata and that its final lines would correspond with the last double-page of chapter 437.

_Corrupt  
You corrupt  
And bring corruption to all that you touch_

That is definitely what Naruto thinks about Nagato. He knows that the villain has suffered a lot in his life from what he heard. However, Naruto disapproves of the path Nagato chose to take. Naruto knows that finding a different solution is hard but his nature is never to give up and every time he encounters an obstacle that cannot be overcome, he just goes around it. The "corruption to all that You touch" quite literally corresponds with how Nagato blew Hinata away.

_Hold  
You'll behold  
And beholden for all that you've done_

Naruto said it himself: "I told You, Your death will lead to peace." Naruto's intention from the start was to defeat Nagato and punish him for what he had done to his village and probably also for what he had done to all the other Jinchūrikis. He may not be aware of it but I sense that it is deep down there somewhere.

_And spell  
Cast a spell  
Cast a spell on the country you run_

This part here is a little problematic but it definitely relates to how Nagato is in charge of Amegakure. In that little world, he became the leader and some people really regard him as a divine figure. However, that pride is only an illusion because Nagato is neither a god nor an invincible individual and his promises are largely empty.

_And risk  
You will risk  
You will risk all their lives and their souls_

Nagato is definitely putting all the citizens of Amegakure at risk. It is clear that once the Elemental Nations learn more about the Akatsuki's plans, some of the Kages may choose to launch a pre-emptive strike on Amegakure and make it a battleground once again. Nagato's motivation is the suffering his home endured in the past, the suffering he wants it to never taste again. However, his actions are very risky and may well lead to this outcome.

_And burn  
You will burn  
You will burn in hell  
Yeah, you'll burn in hell  
You'll burn in hell  
Yeah, you'll burn in hell  
For your sins_

Simple enough. I think that this should be the point when Nagato stabs Hinata and Naruto starts giving in to his rage and decides to show no mercy.

_Oh, our freedom's consuming itself  
What we've become  
Is contrary to what we want_

_Take a bow_

This is probably the most problematic part of the song in that it is hard to relate to the goings on of the chapter. It is a passage about self-reflection, that much is clear. Let's say that Naruto reflects on the short moments of understanding he had for Nagato and thinks that he probably used to want to become a "regular" saviour. We know from the flashback from chapter 373, during Jiraiya's battle with the various Pains, that Nagato wanted to be a good person who would end the world's suffering. However, he became a monster who decided to bathe the world in pain. Naruto's situation is not that drastic but it is similar. After unconsciously hurting Sakura, he vowed never to use Kyūbi's power again, but here he is, giving in to his rage and unleashing his demon without restraint and he knows he will probably regret it somehow. This would warrant the plural, the "we".

The last line – Take a bow – could be interpreted in a number of ways. It could be a subconscious calling to both Naruto and Nagato to become humble again. It could be a promise from Naruto to Nagato that he will make him beg for forgiveness. Or it could be an interjection from Kyūbi – bow before my power, weaklings.

_Death  
You bring death  
And destruction to all that you touch_

Naruto is not yet completely lost to Kyūbi's influence and can feel more rage towards Nagato. He now feels pure disgust for him, especially after he brutalised Hinata. Note that I am not saying that Hinata is dead (I do not want to believe that she dies), as this line is only a generalisation of the situation.

_Pay  
You must pay  
You must pay for your crimes against the earth_

This passage is merely an extension of "You'll beholden for all that you've done" and also of "You will risk all their lives and their souls". Again, the "crimes against the earth" reflect that Nagato wants to destroy entire countries to achieve his goals and that he is taking lives like it is nobody's business, especially the lives of the Jinchūrikis.

_Yeah, hex  
Feed the hex  
Feed the hex on the country you love_

This ties in to the "spell on the country" and "risking all their lives and souls" and is merely expressing what I have already explained there. Nagato's actions may benefit Amegakure in the short term but it is highly probably that they will lead to its demise. The irony is that Nagato does indeed love his country and hometown.

_Now beg  
You will beg  
You will beg for their lives and their souls_

This is the point where Naruto is almost completely consumed by his rage and mere milliseconds away from leaving everything up to the primal force of Kyūbi. The last shreds of his conscious thinking lead to these lines. The pronoun "their" should not relate only to the citizens of Amegakure but also to the citizens of Konohagakure and even to Nagato's accomplices. Nagato should beg for the lives of all of them because if any more people from Konoha die, the inevitable retaliation will be even greater. Nagato should beg for "their" lives because he brought doom on many, even those he may hold dear. He should beg for "their" lives because the means he had chosen are not enough to justify the ends and may very well prevent those ends from being fulfilled.

_Now burn  
You will burn  
You will burn in hell  
Yeah, you'll burn in hell  
You'll burn in hell  
Yeah, you'll burn in hell  
You'll burn in hell  
Yeah, you'll burn in hell  
For your sins_

The final lines of this song, the chorus, should be in unison with Naruto's first genuinely beastly roars because nothing more than primal rage is needed for these thoughts to be expressed. Hardly anything needs to be explained here either. Both Naruto and Kyūbi are after Nagato's blood (Kyūbi simply loves bloodshed) and they want him to suffer tremendously.

There, that is all. I know that it may be asking too much to have Naruto think about all of that in such a short period of time but it is feasible. Just remember that when Naruto first visited his mindscape and communicated with Kyūbi, he was falling off a cliff and the whole affair took only a few seconds of real time. If You could manage to squeeze all these thoughts I presented into a presentable story package, You will have my gratitude.

* * *

**I Repeat That Hinata Is Not Dead:**

**I may eventually turn this idea into a song-fic myself but right now I do not have enough "heart" to do it. That is why I decided to explain the basics of it to You and hope that someone will take it up. So, if You think You are that someone who is capable of putting this spin on chapter 437 into coherent words, write a review for this chapter to let me and everyone else know. If You found my explanation of this idea rushed but would still be willing to write it into a story, do not hesitate to contact me and ask me to clarify.**

**Stay on the safe side!**


End file.
